Well apparently the Lord wanted to tell me something. Last weekend Vida (cru) had a weekend student retreat in the near by city of La Plata. Our students and staff from Buenos Aires got together with the students and staff in La Plata for a weekend together to grow in the word, prayer, evangelism, and more. The first two days of the retreat I found myself serving in the kitchen the whole time. Even when I wasn't signed up to help cook I was in the kitchen. By the second night, I started asking myself why I wasn't participating more in the workshops and such. I could. The other STINTers were serving but were also participating. But why wasn't I wanting to be in the workshops? The Lord whispered that I should look at fear. For me it is easier to be in the kitchen with other english speaking gringos rather than having to work to engage in spanish conversation. It is easier to do something that doesn't require much thought and be in a safe place where the Lord can't convict me of anything. However, next day I stayed out of the kitchen trying to listen to the Lord.

Apparently it needs to sink in a little more because today he spoke again. I hide behind service. Think about it - how many times do we say "Everything is good just keeping busy." I don't know about you but I get tired of hearing that word. We are all busy. But why do we keep so busy? For me, part of the reason is that it is easier to hide behind doing something rather than facing the problem, having to come to God asking him to walk me through my sin. All this "busyness" keeps us from acknowledging our true thirst for love, friendships, truth and thus thirst for the Lord. I heard this devotional a few weeks ago about Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42.

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feetlistening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 


Martha is so distracted by her service that she doesn't even take the time to sit at the feet of Jesus. She is missing out on just being with him, spending time together, and learning from him. Although small, there are tons of messages packed in this passage. Hearing this passage was the first time the Lord started signaling my service filled life. The Lord asks us to serve and some people are given gifts of service. However for me, my service was stemming from something else, a heart issue that needed to be addressed. I find myself being a Martha, hiding behind my service, "just keeping busy" so I don't have to actually see where Jesus truly wants me. It is hard to do nothing and just be in the presence of the Lord, listening and enjoying his presence. But I am tired of hiding in the service and being busy because it is easy. I want true freedom. And as backwards as it may seem, true freedom comes in Christ. For me it is a big step of faith to drop the busy service where I am comfortable and sit at the feet of Christ as he directs my path. But the Lord has called and I am taking the step. 

Over the past couple of weeks I have been wrestling with materialism. What it means, what it looks like, is it bad to desire good things or as christians are we not supposed to to have "excess" like fancy cars, nice clothes, a vacation home, money to travel or whatever you want. So this is a post just to throw out what has been tossing around in my head. During my time here in Argentina I have obviously lived very differently from what I do in the states. Ok maybe not as different as I would if I was living in Japan or Sudan but it has been very different. I have gone with without and I am surviving. In fact, I am loving it!

There are still those moments when I think "man I could get there quicker if I had a car." Or "clean floors would be amazing." Or "how great would it be to go shopping so I don't have to wear the same clothes over and over." So all of this has got me thinking what is the balance with materialism.

Lets face it, we have a huge consumeristic society in america. I am part of that society. I am just trying to think about what the Lord says in regards to materialism and how that affects what my desires should be. So here are some of my thoughts after a few weeks of reading and praying:

- the Lord DESIRES to richly bless us. 

That is his desire to bless his children. I am not talking prosperity gospel. He blesses in his own way. Most of his blessing is in the eternal perspective but equally he blesses us now. He knows what it good for us. Sometimes what is good is being without.

- it is ok to have a nice car. 

It doesn't have to be the car but lets just imagine here. If I have the money to buy a nice car, but have a car that works just fine, shouldn't I use that money on something else that would glorify the Lord? It could be giving to charity, buying something for someone else or sponsoring a missionary. Well I could do all of those things. Those aren't bad things but neither is buying a nice car if your heart is in the right place. If I am giving to the Lord first what is his and he has continued to bless me above that financially then it equally pleases him just to bless me. (i.e. me buying the car.) If my heart is seeking his will first, if my priorities are in line with his and I am daily striving to walk with him, then I can trust the wisdom and discernment he has given me to spend the money, that is his to begin with but has freely given to me, to buy the "extras".

- ultimately our first priority is in the Lord.
When it comes down to it, this shouldn't even be a question I am having. The Lord has told us his will that we should live in communion with him, in harmony the way he originally designed the world. Until that day arrives we are to "go make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) This is where our hearts should lie. Having a heart focused on making disciples will take my heart away from material desires (well not completely because we are sinners after all. But it will make it easier to fill ourselves with truth and get back on the right track).

- the great balance of life.
The reason I struggle in wanting more material things is because I am a broken person. We are all broken and living in a world that is not the way it was created to be. One huge thing I am learning here is balance. There is balance in everything in life. Everything! In our brokenness, or sin, we have lost the ability to keep things balanced. We are either planners or procrastinators. Saving everything thing because you never know when you might need it or using it all up at once to meet the immediate demand. All good or all bad. Only the Lord is the master at the balancing act. He is love and justice. He is peace and war. I could go on a whole other rant with this but I will stick with this - my lack of balance has me thinking it is all or nothing. I can either have nice things or I can't as a Christian. It is black or white. The concept of there being a middle ground is hard to fathom much less define. But one does exist. That is what we are all searching for.

So the question is, what is the balance with materialism? Well I think it is personal. Every person has there own limits as to what the Lord knows they can handle. Materialism too has its limits as some find themselves stumbling over having material desires more than others. Remember balance. Our ultimate priority is serving the Lord. So if material things are keeping us from this then we need to look at our scale to see what needs to be let go. Taking the time to search my own heart, see what my motives are for the stuff, and seeking truth in scripture and in prayer about what the Lord says about materialism is something we should all individually do. Materialism isn't going anywhere therefore the way we approach it makes a world of difference.

" Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4 

Summer has come and gone, school is starting back up, and autumn is on its way. This has been my first week back in school. I can't believe it is already time for the second semester! We experienced so many wonderful blessings over the summer!

• 3 Argentine girls starting up a new CRU movement on their philosophy campus
• 2 Columbians and 1 Mexicana who are PRECIOUS and are super excited to get involved in discipleship and evangelism on the Agriculture campus! Woot Woot!
• other students from various campuses stepping up to lead on their campuses
• receiving Kim! - new staff woman who will be serving in the ministry here for 3-5 yrs
• watching the Lord refocus our hearts
• Dad, Mom and lindsey coming to visit!!!
• having time to deepen my relationships with argentine friends
• living with the girls on my STINT team!
• seeing huge changes in the ministry here that testify to the Lord's presence in this crazy city and reminding us this is his movement
• receiving a super encouraging package from the wonderful girls back at the UofA
• in a matter of days God providing a wonderful roommate and apartment for next year
• spending amazing days switching between different campuses around Buenos Aires getting to evangelize with students and see their hearts for the Lord

One of my favorites of these evangelism days was going to a campus, Universidad de la Matanza, outside of the city to help a group of students who, on their own, just following the Lord's call, have started a campus movement of their own. One time we showed up to find 40 students ready to go out evangelizing! It was such a testament to the Lord's power and presence all around the globe.

Do you ever get stuck thinking the Lord only exists where you are? Well I sure do. Seeing these students who felt the call to evangelize just from reading the Word sure brought me down to my knees. All over the world the Lord is moving and bringing his people back to him. It can be so easy to forget but take a moment and think about it.

... ... ...

He doesn't need us. He is working in the hearts of his people all on his own. It is a privilege that we get to be a part in that. Yet so easily I get caught up in myself and the small "world" around me that I forget the Lord is equally present in Russia, currently leading a huge underground movement in China, giving dreams to Ethiopians, showing his mercy to those in Greece, and liberating those living in slavery all around the world. He is the same God no matter where you go.

Let us become more aware of His presence. Let us experience the glory of His goodness.

Summer was great. Refreshing. Full of new things and countless blessings. Now it is time for classes, new friendships, moving back to live with my precious argentine grandma, having a real functioning toilet, and living on the 29 bus. It is an exciting 3 and half months that I have left ahead of me. Who knows what the Lord has in store. But if there is one thing I am sure it is that the Lord is faithful. Always has been. Always will be. May these summer blessings carry me forward into the blessings of autumn and winter.

"I feel the rains of your love. I feel the winds of your spirit. I feel the heart beat of heaven. Let us hear. Open the flood gates of heaven."

This past week I have stumbled upon a new worship band that I am really enjoying. As I write this I am having a little jam session. Despite the ridiculous heat that brought constant sweat all day, today the Lord blessed my team and I with a great day of evangelism. This week and last we have had students step up and organize three days of evangelism on three different campuses throughout the city. These students did all of this with out being asked, prompted, anything. It was solely out of a heart to spread the love of Christ as they continue to experience it more. How cool is that?! That is the exact reason this STINT team is here - to raise up a student lead movement of passionate believers who are experiencing Christ and wanting to share that with those around them. So obviously when we were asked to go alongside and help them we jumped on it.

Today I was really excited to go out with the students to evangelize but me and my teammate Jill got off to a late start due to a few unexpected setbacks. When we were finally on our way we were almost 2 hours late but that still left us 2 hours on campus. To get to the campus we had to take 2 different buses. We got to the second bus stop and waited for 45 minutes.... that is Buenos Aires for you... ok so honestly during this waiting I was seriously wondering if it was even going to be worth us going. By the time we would get there we would probably only have an hour. However, as I thought this I also heard, "that is exactly what the Devil wants you to think. If you go home you have given him the upper hand"

Well I wasn't about to let the Devil hold that over my head. "I don't care if I only have 30 mins. The Lord will use whatever time I have there and I am not letting the Devil smile today as I give into his seductive ways."

We get to the campus with an hour left. Jill and I head off to the first girl we see sitting outside and what a conversation we had.

That hour we had - we spent it all with her. Back and forth we went as we asked her questions and she asked us back. This can be a rarity. But the questions on both ends just kept coming. Finally she asked but how do you know that God is real, that he is there? It hit me so naturally. After having a team assignment to write our testimonies in spanish last week, this was the perfect time to share my testimony, something we had yet to do in spanish. Perfect.

So hear we go, Jill and I. I go first and share with Vanessa how I know the Lord is real through the change that He did in my heart a few years ago when I went to California. 45 minutes we talked and shared our testimonies. In SPANISH! How great is our God?! We left the conversation having shared the Gospel and praying Vanessa would continue to ponder the news she heard.

Think about it. We could have given in to the Devil and turned back when buses seemed to be few and far between. But we gave the Lord control knowing that He will use whatever we are able to give Him. And He did.

Isn't it the same in our everyday life? There are tons of opportunities when we can turn back, letting the Devil have victory. But that is not how we are to fight. The devil can come in the first person, in disguised ways that blind us to even seeing that it is him all along. We fight with truth and Christ on our side. The Lord isn't asking for numbers or quantity in whatever way that looks for you. He merely asks you to follow Him and give Him all you've got. We fight from victory for victory has already been won on the cross.

For me, it is the little things the Lord does; the little ways He puts things together where I see His faithfulness and am overcome with His presence. Today was one of those days.

The past week and half students from all over Argentina got together to celebrate Christ at Effecto M summer camp. Effecto M stands for the mobilization, magnification, and multiplication effect. We had such an incredible time. The camp was situated in the foot hills of Cordoba. There were around 260 students and staff from all parts of Argentina. It was such an encouraging week to see students truly praising and loving the Lord. I had some great opportunities to talk with students and hear about how they started their walk with Christ.

It probably shouldn't, but it continues to amaze me how big our God is. He is same God everywhere you go. The same things he teaches me in the states or wherever I am, He is teaching others all over the world. During the week we focused on finding the purpose for your life. Matthew 28:18-20 says "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

Our individual plans may be different but our overall purpose is the same. We are all called to serve in lifting up the name of the Lord. That will look different for every person, whether that is speaking with co workers in an office, being a teacher, working overseas, being a missionary full time, or being a student and friend. The week had me asking God what His plan is for me. What is the way in which He has called me to serve and share of the grace and love He has freely given.

One night during the week was focused on missions. It was a neat experience as I am currently hear on mission and I was able to see others being encouraged to move and mobilize others. Afterwards, I talked with a girl studying medicine who feels the Lord calling her to medical missions after she completes her studies. God is moving and it is not just in our neck of the woods. It is so easy for me to forget that there is life happening outside of my life.

Overall camp was a great success. I heard so many students talking about the ways the Lord spoke to them. As a STINT team, we received so many "thank yous" for our service here in Argentina. The thanks goes out to you all as you have supported the Lord's work in Argentina.

This Thanksgiving I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Machu Picchu, Peru with three study abroad friends. I had never thought about traveling outside of Argentina, but the opportunity presented itself and, oddly enough, I really felt the Lord saying I shouldn't pass it up. So I jumped on board.

I could talk for days about the whole trip. It was INCREDIBLE! The mountains in Peru are stunning and Machu Picchu of course is amazing! We did a four-day hike to Machu Picchu that included everything from crazy van rides, hot springs, biking, and zip-lining to hiking. We were part of a group that included, two cousins from France, two Canadians, two Spainards, an Irishman, a guy from Switzerland, and of course our trusty guide Abraham.

Before leaving, I had been bathing the trip in prayer, praying that the Lord would present spiritual conversations along the trail. I am still amazed at how the Lord answered my prayer. Three conversations occurred and never once did I have to bring them up.

Day one, Thanksgiving Day, we arrived in Peru and treated ourselves to a nice Thanksgiving meal. After going around the table sharing what we were thankful for for the year, my friends began a spiritual conversation where the Lord gave me the opportunity to share what my faith meant to me.

The next conversation was 3 days into the hike and continues to leave me singing praises at how great our God is. Here we are walking along and one of our friends from France just begins asking me about Genesis. He was raised in an atheist home and had just decided to start reading the Bible. He was full of questions. He is such a smart guy and Genesis was really giving him a run for his money. So for 2 hours we talked. He had some great questions that were really making me think as well. By the end the Gospel had been shared and he told me that this was the first time he was able to talk so openly with someone about religion. There was so much that occurred throughout this conversation, but there is one thing that the Lord began showing me that continues to weigh in my mind.

All throughout our conversation, my French friend displayed how lost this world is. The idea that merely being a good person and doing good deeds for others not being enough to go to Heaven was something he just could not grasp. He wants to know the truth. That is why he decided to start reading the Bible. He is in search of the truth. But he isn't the only one. He showed me that everyone is wanting to do good and is in search of the truth. The problem is us. We have made a million different religions and everyone is telling a different truth. No one knows what to believe. We have taken what we like from different religions and adapted it to fit our lives. The truth however lies in God's living Word; not in the ideas of man. But even we, as Christians, have driven people away, made people question the truth of Christ due to our actions and allowed tolerance to spread in a way that downplays and negates the truth of Christ. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not promoting anything harsh or radical. However, I am beginning to see a desperate need for the truth to be spread. People are lost and hungry for spiritual guidance and I am kicking myself in the butt because I am not saying anything. I am so afraid of making someone angry or loosing someone's friendship, that I choose not to share the truth I know and love.

Having these conversations in Peru encourages me that a spiritual conversation doesn't have to be hard or something you loose friends over. And I have no power over whether someone chooses to believe. That is the Lord's job. He just asks us to share so all people will have had the opportunity to at least hear the good news of the Gospel.

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." Philemon 1:6

I would challenge everyone to open the Word and read it with an open heart, allowing the Spirit to work. Once you experience the love of Christ, you will never turn back.

What a blessing. Today after 2 hours in the post office, I received my first and probably best package. The wonderful girls in the Bible study I co-lead last year sent me a box full of encouraging letters, candy, random jokes, and Christmas decorations. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to cry.

Tomorrow is my last day for the semester. Just one more final and my first school semester is finished. It hit me last week how exhausted and in need of a break I was. Well today when I opened that box to find an explosion of red confetti paper and colorful letters I got the energy I needed to finish up the semester. I feel so incredibly blessed by these wonderful friends. Last year was my favorite year on campus! These girls had entered my life and been such a blessing and now they are continuing to bless me in South America. I was overjoyed and over whelmed because I didn't do anything be so blessed. That is the beauty of the Gospel though right?

Thank you girls!! Love and miss you!